Comcast on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded expectations but fell short on net additions of high speed internet customers. The stock popped over 3.5 percent in premarket trading.
Here’s what Comcast reported versus Wall Street’s expectations:
- Earnings: 64 cents per share adjusted vs. 62 cents per share expected in an analyst survey by Refinitiv
- Revenue: $27.846 billion vs. $27.553 billion expected in the survey
- High-speed internet customers: 351,000 net adds vs. 360,000 net adds expected in a FactSet consensus estimate
For its full year 2018, Comcast reported revenue of $94.51 billion, marking 11.1 percent growth from the previous year.
Comcast noted in its earnings report that the dip in its earnings per share for the full year 2018 compared to the year prior was due in large part to $12.7 billion of net income tax benefits factored into the fourth quarter of 2017. Excluding the tax benefit and other adjustments in 2017 and 2018, Comcast reported that its EPS increased 25.6 percent to $2.55 per share for the full year compared to the year prior.
Comcast reported revenue for NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC and NBC, at $9.40 billion for the quarter, a 7.1 percent increase compared to the same quarter last year. The NBCUniversal segment includes broadcast and cable channels as well as theme parks and film studios.
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The company said while its filmed entertainment revenue increased 14 percent to $1.98 billion this quarter compared to the fourth quarter 2017, it was offset by lower content licensing and home entertainment revenue. Comcast said content licensing revenue decreased 8.8 percent due to the timing of content availability under licensing agreements. Home entertainment revenue decreased 14.3 percent compared to the prior year period due to the success of several releases in 2017 including Despicable Me 3, the company reported.
Comcast reported pro forma revenue for Sky, the British broadcaster for which it finalized its acquisition last quarter after an extensive bidding war with Twenty-First Century Fox. Comcast bid $39 billion for the takeover, outbidding Fox by $3.6 billion. Noting that the results are subject to change as acquisition accounting is finalized, it reported $5.02 billion in revenue for the quarter for Sky. Comcast presented the results as if the acquisition occurred on Jan. 1, 2017, based mainly on historical results of operations and adjusted for purchase price and costs related to the acquisition.
Here’s how Comcast’s divisions did for the fourth quarter:
- Cable communications accounted for $14.13 billion in total revenue
- Cable networks, excluding the Olympics, accounted for $2.89 billion in total revenue
- Broadcast television, excluding the Olympics and Super Bowl, accounted for $3.10 billion in total revenue
- Filmed entertainment brought in $1.98 billion in total revenue
- Theme Parks brought in $1.51 billion in revenue
Last quarter, Comcast beat analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines in what CEO Brian Roberts said was the company’s “best broadband quarter in 10 years” in an interview on CNBC after the report.
The company has sought to diversify as its video segment has steadily declined over the past several quarters and is expected to fall again this quarter, according to FactSet estimates. The company finalized its acquisition of the British broadcaster Sky last quarter after an extensive bidding war with Twenty-First Century Fox. Comcast bid $39 billion for the takeover, outbidding Fox by $3.6 billion.
Investors will also likely hear about NBCUniversal’s recently announced plans to enter the streaming space on Wednesday’s earnings call. Earlier this month, the NBCUniversal said it will launch a free, ad-supported streaming service to pay-TV subscribers, including those who subscribe to rival services including Charter, AT&T, Cox and Dish. The service will also be accessible to non-pay-TV subscribers for about $12 per month, a person familiar with the company’s plans told CNBC. NBCUniversal said the service will be available in the first quarter of 2020.
Source: cnbc.com | Original Link